AN INVESTIGATION INTO FACTORS INFLUENCING IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLANS IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS IN SOUTH SUDAN -JUBA

Abstract: Many organizations have embraced strategic planning, but the implementation process remains a challenge many a times resulting in well-formulated strategies that fail to be accomplished at the implementation stage. Strategy implementation skills are not easily mastered, unfortunately. This study therefore sought to investigate the factors influencing strategic plan implementation in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in South Sudan. Specifically, the influence of communication, organizational culture, leadership and strategic control on strategic plan implementation was examined. A cross sectional study survey targeting 1230 NGOs in South Sudan was conducted using a questionnaire to collect both primary and while secondary data was collected from 113 respondents and from published documents. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis. The findings of the study are control and communication is the most important factors influencing Strategic Plan Implementation in NGOs in South Sudan. Further, communication, leadership, culture and control were found to influence the implementation of strategic plans among NGOs in South Sudan. This study has clarified the relative influence of factors that affect strategy implementation in NGOs in South Sudan which would act as a guide to the improvement in strategy implementation. The study found out that the effectiveness of the communication level in the NGOs determines to a great extent the effectiveness of strategic plan implementation. The findings revealed that lack of sessions in the organizations that informed the employees in the NGOs of their new responsibilities under the 2014-2017 Strategic Plan affected the communication process and therefore impacting the strategic plan implementation. The study also concluded that there exists a positive relationship between organizational culture and strategic plan implementation. There findings also revealed that leaders demonstrated their willingness to give energy and loyalty to the implementation process of strategic plan and the NGOs had policy control systems used by leaders to provide mechanisms for keeping their current actions in congruence/in line with future goals. The study found that in most NGOs in South Sudan, there were support policies that ensured that the strategic plans are implemented well. Moreover, most of the NGOs had a budget against which strategic plans are implemented and the NGOs determined the targets against which performance was measured. The study recommends that the NGOs should ensure there are more sessions to sensitize their employees of their respective responsibilities under new strategic plans. The objective of these sessions is to provide proper communication plan including clear explanation of what new responsibilities, tasks and duties need to be performed by the affected implementers.